Venture
To UTAH
September 9-19, 2005
Our first Venture to Utah was a great success despite a little extra driving around the eastern part of the state! Highlights on any tour are always hard to choose, but hikes in the higher elevations at Bald Mountain and Leidy Peak had to be amongst the more exhilarating and fruitful. While the flock of Black Rosy-Finches kept their distance, we did have a nice passage of raptors including a distant Northern Goshawk, as well as several American Kestrels, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks. A male Mountain Goat was also a surprise as he picked his way down the seemingly sheer cliffs. After a good walk we always look forward to a hearty picnic lunch and this was enjoyed amidst snow flurries!! Leidy Peak did not give up its ptarmigan to us, but we did have a pair of Prairie Falcons, a flock of Mountain Bluebirds and the obligatory Rock Wren.
Utah is a land of contrasts and Antelope Island is always good.
We almost froze as we birded our way along the causeway, but
the birding was excellent with thousands of Franklin's and California Gulls,
Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets and Eared Grebes. Going through the flocks
looking for shorebirds produced some good birds including an American Golden
Plover, 9 Black-bellied Plover, 20+ Baird's Sandpiper and 3 Sanderling. Antelope
Island is a very good place for introduced Chukar and true to form we had very
nice views of a flock of 30+ birds. Southeastern Utah is a vastly different
place and Arches National park is a "must-see" place on any itinerary.
Well, the rest of the country was there too, so enjoying the spires and
pinnacles of red rock country was shared with thousands of other people - aah, a
true wilderness experience! Dead Horse Point State Park was not as crowded, but
equally as spectacular with a huge gorge dropping down to the Colorado River.
Canyon Wrens played hide and seek with us as they flew over the precipice and
thanks to an employee at the park, we found the elusive Juniper Titmouse near
the bathrooms!! Local knowledge can surely help at times!! Other highlights? How
about multiple Golden Eagles, a very cooperative Virginia Rail, road kill Sage
Sparrow (!), 30+ California Quail in the road, and some American Dippers playing
in a pond.
All in all, despite some unusual eating experiences, this was a very good trip and a keeper for the future.
| Birds: | |
| Common Loon | Dusky Flycatcher |
| Pied-billed Grebe | Gray Flycatcher |
| Eared Grebe | Cordilleran Flycatcher |
| Western Grebe | Say’s Phoebe |
| Clark’s Grebe | Western Kingbird |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Loggerhead Shrike |
| American White Pelican | Cassin’s Vireo |
| Great Blue Heron | Plumbeous Vireo |
| Great Egret | Warbling Vireo |
| Snowy Egret | Gray Jay |
| Cattle Egret | Steller’s Jay |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | Western Scrub-Jay |
| White-faced Ibis | Clark’s Nutcracker |
| Turkey Vulture | Black-billed Magpie |
| Osprey | American Crow |
| Canada Goose | Common Raven |
| Gadwall | Horned Lark |
| American Wigeon | Tree Swallow |
| Mallard | Violet-green Swallow |
| Blue-winged Teal | Northern Rough-winged Swallow |
| Cinnamon Teal | Bank Swallow |
| Northern Shoveler | Barn Swallow |
| Northern Pintail | Black-capped Chickadee |
| Green-winged Teal | Mountain Chickadee |
| Redhead | Juniper Titmouse |
| Ring-necked Duck | Bushtit |
| Ruddy Duck | Red-breasted Nuthatch |
| Northern Harrier | Brown Creeper |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | Rock Wren |
| Cooper’s Hawk | Canyon Wren |
| Northern Goshawk | Bewick’s Wren |
| Swainson’s Hawk | House Wren |
| Red-tailed Hawk | Marsh Wren |
| Ferruginous Hawk | American Dipper |
| Golden Eagle | Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
| American Kestrel | Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
| Merlin | Western Bluebird |
| Prairie Falcon | Mountain Bluebird |
| Peregrine Falcon | Townsend’s Solitaire |
| Ring-necked Pheasant | Hermit Thrush |
| Greater Sage-Grouse | American Robin |
| Wild Turkey | Gray Catbird |
| Chukar | Sage Thrasher |
| California Quail | European Starling |
| Virginia Rail | American Pipit |
| American Coot | Cedar Waxwing |
| Sandhill Crane | Orange-crowned Warbler |
| Black-bellied Plover | Nashville Warbler |
| American Golden-Plover | Virginia’s Warbler |
| Snowy Plover | Yellow Warbler |
| Semipalmated Plover | Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) Warbler |
| Killdeer | Black-throated Gray Warbler |
| Black-necked Stilt | Townsend’s Warbler |
| American Avocet | Blackburnian Warbler |
| Greater Yellowlegs | MacGillivray’s Warbler |
| Willet | Common Yellowthroat |
| Spotted Sandpiper | Wilson’s Warbler |
| Long-billed Curlew | Western Tanager |
| Sanderling | Green-tailed Towhee |
| Western Sandpiper | Spotted Towhee |
| Baird’s Sandpiper | Chipping Sparrow |
| Pectoral Sandpiper | Clay-colored Sparrow |
| Short-billed Dowitcher | Brewer’s Sparrow |
| Wilson’s Snipe | Vesper Sparrow |
| Wilson’s Phalarope | Black-throated Sparrow |
| Red-necked Phalarope | Sage Sparrow |
| Franklin’s Gull | Savannah Sparrow |
| Ring-billed Gull | Song Sparrow |
| California Gull | Lincoln’s Sparrow |
| Forster’s Tern | White-crowned Sparrow |
| Rock Pigeon | Dark-eyed (Gray-headed) Junco |
| Mourning Dove | Black-headed Grosbeak |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | Blue Grosbeak |
| Western Screech-Owl | Red-winged Blackbird |
| Burrowing Owl | Western Meadowlark |
| Common Nighthawk | Yellow-headed Blackbird |
| White-throated Swift | Brewer’s Blackbird |
| Black-chinned Hummingbird | Brown-headed Cowbird |
| Broad-tailed Hummingbird | Black Rosy-Finch |
| Rufous Hummingbird | Pine Grosbeak |
| Belted Kingfisher | Cassin’s Finch |
| Red-naped Sapsucker | House Finch |
| Williamson’s Sapsucker | Red Crossbill |
| Downy Woodpecker | Pine Siskin |
| Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker | Lesser Goldfinch |
| Olive-sided Flycatcher | American Goldfinch |
| Western Wood-Pewee | House Sparrow |
| Hammond’s Flycatcher | |
| Mammals: | |
| Vole (sp) | Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel |
| Desert Cottontail | Rock Squirrel |
| Mountain Cottontail | White-tailed Prairie-Dog |
| Black-tailed Jackrabbit | Yellow-bellied Marmot |
| American Pica | Northern Raccoon |
| Red Squirrel | Long-tailed Weasel |
| Least Chipmunk | Mule Deer |
| Yellow-pine Chipmunk | American Bison |
| Cliff Chipmunk | Bighorn Sheep |
| Hopi Chipmunk | Pronghorn |
| Antelope Ground-Squirrel | Mountain Goat |
